Devices for cutting and creasing corrugated carton blanks



June 16, 1964 c. 1. ELLIOTT 3,137,218

DEVICES FOR CUTTING AND CREASING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS Filed Feb. 12,1963 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 2f U 1 222 hl? fu-2z LTT f i e; S I 24 22 t Z3 I'1 25 L25 25MI -2 S P25 l i N x n f m2/ 23 22W 1*@ 1 N ik I l k S Q 8 SlI Fig. Z Fig 5 fag. l H/Ze l[26 u U Af f #si "22, Eff" l| 1'! i 25 V2525/1 22 l/25 ,z5-l l" i I 22 l 23 l l I 22 l I *23 24 l 'I Il 24 1 L s l26ln w26 u u I .5 Fzg. 4 Fzg Fig. 6

1L L l cl l I L I. 1' 4i! IU l 22 i 23 INVENToR.

j nr Char/es l. EZZI'OH ATTORNEY c. l. ELLIOTT 3,137,218

DEVICES FOR CUTTING AND cREAsING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS June 16, 19647 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. l2, 1965 NVENTOR. Char/es l. Elliott gym 5@MAJ-Q L ATTORNEY C. l. ELLIOTT June 16, 1964 DEVICES FOR CUTTING ANDCREASING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. l2, 1963INVENTOR. Char/es I. Ellim av" Ariola/vnf C. L ELLIOTT June 16, 1964DEVICES FOR CUTTING AND CREASING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS '7Sheets-Sheer, 4

Filed Feb. l2, 1965 INVENTOR. zar/es Ellz'oh BY'J''a-MA we l-w' ATram/Ey C. l. ELLIOTT June 16, 1964 DEVICES FOR CUTTING AND CREASINGCORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS '7 Sheets-Sheen 5 Filed Feb. l2, 1965 IN V ENTOR. Char/es Filz'of 42 ATTORNEY June 16, 1964 DEVICES FOR Filed Feb.12, 1965 c. l. ELLIOTT 3,137,218

CUTTING AND CREASTNG CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKs 7 Sheets-Sheen 6 u,

INVENTR. Mar/e6` I. Ellz'oh w ATTURNEY CQ l. ELLIOTT June 16, 1964DEVICES FOR .CUTTING AND CREASING CORRUGATED CARTON BLANKS '7Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Feb. l2, 1965 INVENTOR. Char/es E/o 17 ATTORNEYUnited States Patent O 3,137,218 DEVICES FR CU'ETNG AND CREASIJGCRRUGATED CARMEN BLANKS Charles E. Elliott, Sea Girt, NJ., assgnor toCharies l. Elliott Corporation, Newark, Del., a corporation of DelawareFiled Feb. l2, 1963, Ser. No. 258,067 Claims. (Sl. @3i-5&3)

ure to fit individual shipments which may vary widely in volume oroverall size.

Production of individual cartons to measure eliminates the need forexcessive amounts .ofV ller material, such as excelsior or crumplednewspaper to take up unused space in oversize standard cartons. l

y n this connection it has been proposed to manufacture corrugatedcartons by feeding a strip of corrugated board through a creasing andslotting device consisting basically of a conventional centrallydisposed creasing rule flanked at either end by a slotter or notcher inline with the creasing rule. The creasing rule cooperates with the usualfemale creasing element or make-ready in the opposite die member. Thestrip of corrugated board is advanced step by step between successivecreasing and slotting `operations, and the advance is so chosen as toproduce box panels of the required size.

Advancing the board is an involved procedure which iscarried out by handis apt to lead to mistakes, except in the case of cartons, of squarecross section, because the same dimension never occurs twice insuccession, but a short panel is followed by a long panel which, inturn,is followedlby a short one and another long one. Then a terminal lapmust be provided for in order to secure the ends of the blank togetherprior to assembling the carton.

Thus, frequent resetting of stops is required.

ln order to avoidrsuch inconvenience, it has been proposed to equip theaforesaid creaser and notcher with an automatic strip feeder which,after proper presetting, advances the strip properly to produce therequired panels automatically. The automatic mechanism increases thecost of the device considerably and makes it unavailable for a smallpackaging or shipping plant. The invention provides a device which isprimarily designed to operate with tubular collapsed double facedcorrugated board. The two thicknesses of the tubular blank arerslottedand creased simultaneously, the creasing being carried out bymale'creasing rules advanced towards each other to impress two concavecreases into the two thicknesses of the board from opposite sides at thesame time. Further, the device performs the slottng' and creasing`operation in a sequence of four steps one at a time, one

operation for each corner of the blank. 'Y This arrangement makes itunnecessary to adjust the `device for long cartons, short cartons,cartons of small or cartons of large circumference. The operatorproduces a long carton from along piece of tubular stock and a shortcarton from a short piece. A carton of small cir- 3,137,218 PatentedJune 16, 1964 cumference is produced from narrow tubular stock and acarton of large circumference from wide tubular stock.

The only resetting of the device is required when the height of the sidewalls or the degree of overlap of the end closure flaps is to bechanged.

The finished blank is characterized by closure panel separating slotswhich lie in register in the two thicknesses of the iat collapsedtubular blank. Further, the blank is characterized in that all creasesare concave indentations, viewing the outside of the blank, and finallyby the presence of twocollapsing creases running the length of the sidepanels. The side panels are subsequently flatened out when the carton isbeing set up.

The various objects, features and advantages of this invention willappear more fully from the detailed description which followsaccompanied by drawings showing, for the purpose of illustratori, arepresentative form of device incorporating the present invention andillustrating the operation. The invention resides incertain new andoriginal features of construction and combination of elements ashereinafter set forth and claimed.

Although the characteristic features of this invention which arebelieved to be novel will be particularly pointed out in the claimsappended hereto, the invention itself, its objects and advantages, andthe manner in which it may be carried out will be better understood byreferring to the following description in connection with theaccompanying drawings forming a part of it in which:

FIGS. 1 to 5 are plan views of a carton blank illustrating successivesteps in the manufacture of the blank;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are plan views of modified blanks;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional' view taken on line 8-8 in'FG. 2 toillustrate the type of creasing;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are plan views of the bottom and top portions of acreasing and slotting device incorporating the invention;

FG. ll is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 in FIG.' 9; Y

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a blank deflector, the section beingtaken online 12-12 in FlG. 9;

FIGS. i3 and 14 are perspective views of a foot operated press in whicha slotting and creasing device incorporating the invention isinstalled,` the operations shown being those of QFIGS. 2 and 6; Y

FlGS. l5 and 1'6 are front and rear views of the press of FIGS. 13and'l4; and t FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a carton in the processof being closed.`

In the following description and in the claims various details will beidentified by specific names for convenience. The names, however, areintended tobe generic in their application. Corresponding referencenumerals refer to corresponding elements in the several figures of thedrawings. l

The drawings accompanying, and forming part of, this specificationdisclose certain' details for the purpose of explanation ,of broaderaspects of the invention, but it a certain size and a certain form ofend closure begins with the selection of tubular ilat collapsed doublefaced corrugated carton stock of the required width w (FIG. l). Doublethe width w equals the circumference of the carton, i.e., width of toppanel plus width of bottom panel plus twice the height of the sidewalls. The tubular starting material is prefabricated in certainproduction lengths limited only by the ability of the operator to handlethem or the availability of space to store them. The seam of thestarting material may be central and taped, as shown in FIG. 1, or itmay be overlapped and glued or stitched. The seam may be off center, oreven at one lateral edge, in which case it would be taped. In allinstances the lateral edges 22 and 23 of the tube are fold lines alongwhich the tube is collapsed.

The operator cuts a piece A of a predetermined length l suflicient toproduce the carton body and the end closure panels.

The blank A of FIG. 1 is now inserted with one of its corners into thecutting and creasing device which, in a single operation, produces atransverse crease 24, a longitudinal crease 25, both creases extendinggenerally only part way across or the length of the blank, and a cut,slot or notch 26. The slot 26 extends through both thicknesses of thecorrugated board, hence the slot in the top thickness lies in registerwith the slot in the bottom thickness. The creases are produced byoppositely disposed male creasing rules 27, 28 as shown in FIG. 8. Thecreases in the top and in the bottom thickness are identical and areconcave surface grooves impressed into the board. The result of thefirst operation is shown in FIG. 2.

The blank is then turned over, side to side, and the second cornerinserted into the device which then creases and slots the second cornerin the same manner as the rst. The transverse crease now extends fullyacross the blank which appears as shown in FIG. 3. The tape 21 is now onthe underside.

The blank is next rotated end to end and the operation is repeated atthe third corner. The result is shown in FIG. 4. One of the longitudinalcreases 25 now extends the full length of the blank.

Finally the blank A is turned over side to side and the last corner isslotted and creased. This completes the formation of the carton blank A'which is shown in FIG. 5.

The basic layout of the slotting and creasing die is shown in FIGS. 9 to11. FIG. 9 shows the portion which would normally represent the bottomportion of the die. FIG. shows the top portion which would be-invertedside-to-side and placed on top of the bottom portion. For the sake ofsimplicity both portions are shown as comprising full die plates, eventhough in actual practice it is more convenient to reduce the area ofthe top assembly for better visibility, as will later be seen.

The bottom die plate 29 has male creasing rules mounted on it in aconventional manner. The detailed manner of mounting is not shown inorder to keep the illustration simple. The transverse creasing rule 124is disposed at right angles with respect to the longitudinal creasingrule 125. The point 30 is the apex of the right angle and the rule 124extends beyond the apex. A female slotting tool 31 is mounted in linewith the rule 125 beyond the apex 30.

A guideway 32 extends through the die plate 29 at an angle of 45 degreesto the rules 124 and 125. The guideway may be produced by milling, or byappropriately spacing the two pieces of a two-piece plate. Stopcarriages 33 and 34 are slidable in the guideway 32 and carry stops 35,36. The face 37 of stop 35 thus remains parallel to rule 124 and face 38remains parallel `to rule 125.for all positions of adjustment of thestops along the guideway 32.

The carriages-33 and 34 are provided with internally threaded sleeves 39and 40, one sleeve being threaded left-handedly, the other beingright-handed.

A spindle 41, right-handed'at one end and left-handed at the other end,extendsthrough the sleeves 33 and 34. Rotation of the spindle in onedirection moves the stops closer towards the rules and rotation in theopposite direction moves the stops farther away.

The bottom plate further carries cylindrical posts 42 on which bushings43 of the top die plate 44 (FIG 10) fit slidably.

Transverse and longitudinal male creasing rules 224 and 225 are mountedon the top die plate 44 to match the rules 1124, on the bottom plate 29.A male slotting knife 45 is mounted in a position to lit the -femaleslotting tool 31 and may be provided with a serrated or stepped face 46,as in common practice.

As shown in FIG. 11, the spindle may consist of two pieces 141 and 241coupled centrally by a coupling to facilitate manufacture andinstallation. The coupling 47 may be releasable, one end being pinned tospindle portion 141 at 43, the other end being a slotted clamp 49through which a bolt 5t) extends. The cylindrical end 51 of spindleportion 241 ts the slotted bore of the clamp and both spindle portionsmay be interengaged by tightening the bolt 50 and disengaged byloosening it.

As shown in FIG. 9, both stops 35 and 36 are spaced equal distances fromthe rules. Assuming the spacing to be four units of length, a cartonwill be produced having side walls of a height of eight units and havingouter end closure panels which abut centrally, each panel being of alength of four units.

By adjusting stop 35 to a distance of six units an overlapping endclosure is produced. The corresponding blank B is shown in FIG. 6. FIG.7 shows a blank C in which the outer end closure aps are short, threeunits in length, thus leaving a central Ventilating slot in the cartonend of a slot width of two units.

It is readily apparent that the setting of stop 36 determines the heightof the side Walls and that the setting of stop 35 determines the lengthof the closure aps.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 12, the lower die plate 29 may be tted with flatsprings or ramp elements 52 in advance of the rules 124 and 125 forguiding a blank which is being inserted in the direction of arrow 53past the rules and against the respective stops 35 and 36, thusprventing the blank from being caught at the creasing ru es.

FIG. 13 shows a foot pedal operated press on which a slotting andcreasing die of the type shown in FIGS. 9-12 is installed.

The bottom die plate 29 has a guideway 32 in which the carriages 33, 34for the stops move, one stop being visibleat 35.

Graduations are affixed to the die plate 29 adjacent the guideways, thegraduations being readable against the edge of the carriage. In theposition shown, the scale 54 reads four inches, i.e., the length of theend closure panels will be four inches. Scale 55. reads eight inches,i.e., the height of the side walls will be eight inches.

Hand wheels S6 and 57 are mounted on the ends of the spindle 41. A blankA is inserted into the -device for performance of the first operationshown in FIG. 2. The blank obscures other portions of the bottom dieplate.

The upper die plate 44 is cut away for better visibility of the stopsand is mounted on the yoke 58 by means of arms 59.

Since the creasing rules and the slotting elements cannot be seen theirlocation is indicated by broken lines, line 124 indicating the locationof transverse rule 124, line 125 indicating the location of longitudinalrule 125 rsld lines indicating the position of the slotting knife FIGS.3 and 4 are suiciently explanatory of the next two operations and noviews of the machine are shown for these operations. FIG. 14 shows themachine performing the iinal operation. Pieces of board 60 removed bythe slotting operation have passed through the female slotting element(31 in FIG. 9) and fallen to the iloor. The slotting and creasingoperations are complete, and the blank has reached the stage A' (FIG.s).

. k *.In performing the operations, the operator instead of v rotatingthe blank endto end after the second operation,

turned it over end to end, thus bringing the tape seam of the blank tothe topside. Subsequently the blank was turned over, side to side, forthe iinal operation shown in FIG. '14` which brought the tape to thebottom.

FIG. `l5 shows the machine as seen from'the operators side. The yoke 58is raised by the force of the spring 61' attached at its bottom end to afoot treadle which operates theryoke Vthrough connecting rodsf62. Thebottorn rules are visible'at 124 in front of the stops 3,6 and beyondthe apex 30. The serrated slotting knife 45 is to theleft of the stop 35and the top rules are Visible at` 224mm 225. f Y

vFIG.` 16 shows the machine-from the rear, from which direction thestops 3S and 36, the male slotting knife 45 and its serrated cuttingface 46 are best seen.

- FIG. 17 shows .the corrugated carton A in the process of closing ofthe last outer end panel. The side panels are attened out along theircollapsing fold lines as seen Vat-22. l.

What is claimed is:

1. A devicefor cutting and creasingtiat tubular stock l of corrugatedbox board to produce a carton blank ready Y `for squaring, filling andclosing, the devicecomprising,

a pair of opposite die members;

Y guide means for maintaining the die members in alignment in theirmovement towards, and away from, `each other; 1 Y f n a pair ofmalecreasing elements on'one of said mem- I bers, said elements forminga right angle, one of said v elements terminating at the apex' of theangle, the other element continuing beyond the apex;

apair of complementary male creasing elements on theV other member, saidcomplementary creasing elements also forming a right angle and beingmounted in a'.

position of register with the elements of the one member, one of saidcomplementary elements ter- .minating at the apex of the, angle, theother complementary element continuing beyond the apex;

a male slitting element on one of said members beyondl said apexand inline with-said one element;

e a female slitting element on the other member in a position orregister with said male element; a pair of blanlcedge engaging stopsparallel to, and adf Ijustable with respect to'said creasing elements;and meansf'or jointly adjusting said stops in such a way `thattheydistance between one stop and the said element to which it isparallel remains equal to the Vdistance between the other stop l Y andthe` element'to v. which the other stop is paralleli 2. Adeviee forCuttingand creasing iiat tubular stock "of corrugated box board -toproduce a carton blank ready forsquaring, filling and closing, thedevice comprising,l

a pair of opposite die members; guide means for maintaining the dielmembers in alignment in their movement towards, and away from,

each other; e n a pair of male creasing rules onv one of said members,

. said rules forming right angle, one of the rulesterminating at the.apex orf-the right angle, the other rule continuing beyond the apex; f

' a pair Vof complementary male creasingrules,v on the other member,said complementary creasing rules alsorforming aV right angle and being`mounted in a e position of register with the ruleson said one mem- Y 1ber, one of said complementary rules 4terminating at ti V creasing rulesof said member, the stops being parallel to, and adjustable withrespect` to the creasing rules `with which they are associated. ,e

3. A device for cutting and creasing flat tubular stock of corrugatedtbox board to produce a carton blank ready for squaring, lilling vandclosing, the device comprising,

a pair of opposite die members; 4

guide means for maintaining the die members in'alignment in theirmovement towards, and away from,

' each other; i f

a'pair of male creasing rules on Vone of said members,

said rules forming a right angle, onev of the rules terminating at theapex of the right angle, thel position of register with the rules onsaid one mem-` ber, one of said complementary rules terminating at theapex oi the right angle, the other complementary rule continuing beyondthe apex; a male slitting element on one of said members beyond saidapex and in line with said one rule; Y va female slitting element on theother-member in a position to register with said male slitting element;a pair of blank edge engaging stopsparallel to, and

adjustable-with respect to, said creasing rules;l and means for jointlyadjusting said stops in such Va way that they move equal amountstowards, andf away from the respective creasing rules including meansfor adjusting the position of the stops relatively to each other forequal and unequal distances from the respective creasing rules. 4. Adevice for cutting and creasing liat tubular stock of corrugated boxboard to produce a carton blank ready for squaring, filling and closing,the device comprising,

a pair of opposite die members; e guide means for maintaining the, diemembers inV alignment in -their movement towards, and away from, eachother; e e t a pair of male creasing rules on one of said members, saidVrules forming a`right angle, one ofthe rules terminating at the apex ofthe right angle, the other' a male slitting element on one of saidmembers beyond said apex and in line with said one rule;

afemale slitting element on the other member in a position to registerwith said male slitting element;

a first blank edge engaging stop parallel to said one rule; i

a second blank vedge engaging stop parallel to said other f. rule Y.means for adjustably mounting said stops such that the stops remainparallel Vto the respective rules; and 'a scale associated with e'ach`of said stops for indicating the distance between the stop and therespective rule. x e Y y 5. A device for cutting land creasingtlattubular stock of corrugated box board to produce a carton blankready v .forjfsquaring ,filling and closing, the de vicecomprising,

` the apex of the right angle, the other complementary ly rulecontinuing beyondthe apex; Va male slitting element on one of saidmembers beyon f t said apexand inline with said one rule;

farffemale slitting element on theother member in' aV positiontotregister with said male slitting element; e

and a pairof blank edge engaging stops on one of the i v members, therebeing one stop foreach of the two a pair of Vopposite diemembers; 4 v

guide means for maintaining the die members Vin alignlment 'intheirmovement towards',4 and away from, each other; f l 1 ,a pair of malecreasing rules on one of said members, said rules forming a right angle,one of the rules terminating at the apex'of the right angle, the' otherrule continuing beyond the apex;

a pair of complementary male creasing rules on `the other member, saidcomplementary creasing rules also forming a right angle and beingmounted in a position of register with the rules on said one member, oneof said complementary rules terminating at the apex of the right angle,the other complementary rule continuing beyond the apex; e

a male slitting element on one of said members beyond said apex Iand inline with said one rule;

a female slitting element on the other member in a position to registerwith said male slitting element;

a first blank edge engaging stop parallel to said one rule;

a second blank edge engaging stop parallel to said other rule;

E Y means for adjustably mounting said stops such that the stops remainparallel t0 the respective rules; a scale associated with each of saidstops for indicating the distance between the stop and the respectiverule; and means for jointly moving said stops in such a Way thatthechange in distance of the one stop from said one rule to which it isparallel equals the change in distance of the other stop from said otherrule.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Fordet al. v Mar. 5, 1963

1. A DEVICE FOR CUTTING AND CREASING FLAT TUBULAR STOCK OF CORRUGATEDBOX BOARD TO PRODUCE A CARTON BLANK READY FOR SQUARING, FILLING ANDCLOSING, THE DEVICE COMPRISING, A PAIR OF OPPOSITE DIE MEMBERS; GUIDEMEANS FOR MAINTAINING THE DIE MEMBERS IN ALIGNMENT IN THEIR MOVEMENTTOWARDS, AND AWAY FROM, EACH OTHER; A PAIR OF MALE CREASING ELEMENTS ONONE OF SAID MEMBERS, SAID ELEMENTS FORMING A RIGHT ANGLE, ONE OF SAIDELEMENTS TERMINATING AT THE APEX OF THE ANGLE, THE OTHER ELEMENTCONTINUING BEYOND THE APEX;